The St. Laurentius is the only church in The Netherlands which was
consecrated by a pope. On the 10th of August of 1049 to be precise, and the pope in question was Leo
IX. Obviously, very little of that church is left today. Only the heavy,
Kunrader marlstone tower has survived throughout the history of the
church. The rest of the building fell into decay and was demolished in 1840. In
the following years, some say 1840-1841, others say 1842-1843, it was
replaced by a one-aisled church in neo-Classical style, designed by J.H.J.
Dumoulin. This part was built of brick and forms a big contrast with the other
parts of the church. In 1916-1917 the choir of the church was replaced with a
new eastern part, with a transept and a choir in neo-Romanesque style. This part
of the church was designed by
Jan Stuyt and was also built of Kunrader
marlstone.